The New York Times has a piece today profiling Judge Hellerstein. It discusses his background, impressions of his motivations for how he has shaped the 9/11 litigation, and opinions as to the propriety of rejecting the MDL settlement on fairness grounds.

From the article:

The struggle over control of the settlement has underscored two
different, but not necessarily contradictory views of the judge: the
compassionate jurist driven by a sense of social responsibility and
with a wealth of experience with victims’ suffering, and the aggressive
judge unwilling to cede ground on cases he has shepherded for years.

...

Judge Hellerstein lost several former clients in the collapse of the
twin towers on 9/11. But legal experts suggest that he has a bigger
motivation for championing the ground zero victims: he may see his
handling of the 9/11 cases as his legacy.

...

But lawyers who have sparred with Judge Hellerstein suggest that his
moral compass and commitment to doing what he thinks is right have
sometimes led him to overreach.